Appellation
Chablis
Identity card
VillageAOPWhite
Burgundy › Chablis and the Grand Auxerrois · Recognised on 13 January 1938
- Grand cru
- Premier cru
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Dry white only, from Chardonnay, in 17 communes of the Yonne.
- Premier cru: at most 58 hl/ha and at least 10.5% natural alcohol.
- Frost threatens more than in most vineyards: sprinkling and heating fight it.
Grape varieties
White wine onlyChardonnay
Made from Chardonnay alone
Production rules
60
hl/ha
Maximum yield
10
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
5,500
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 96 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 9 % ABV to 14 % ABV across 46 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 105 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Serein slopes and side valleys, below a limestone cornice
- Soils: Marls full of small fossil oysters, under limestone scree
- Climate: Cool oceanic with continental influences; frosts
Wine style
- dry white
- lively
- fruity
- minerality
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
10 September 2025
Arrêté du 10 septembre 2025 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Chablis » (JORF n°0212 du 12 septembre 2025, texte n°26 ; publié au BO-AGRI n°38 du 18 septembre 2025). Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 13 janvier 1938.
Labelling terms
- "Premier cru" and/or one of 40 climats, which may go under 17 group names
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceArrêté du 10 septembre 2025 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'AOC « Chablis »— Légifrance — Journal officiel de la République française
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Trade bodyFiches d'appellation des vins de Bourgogne (surfaces et récoltes)— Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (BIVB)
A dry white Chardonnay from seventeen communes of the Yonne, grown on the Kimmeridgian marls and limestones that give the variety its most mineral tension in Burgundy. The appellation runs from Chablis to Chablis premier cru (forty climats grouped under seventeen customary names) to Chablis grand cru — a separate, single AOC built on seven named climats rather than seven separate appellations. Frost, more than anywhere else in Burgundy, dictates the grower's calendar here.
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Chablis
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